BAYTOWN, Texas -
Notes from round 3 qualifying in Pro Stock at the 3rd annual Matco Tools
SuperNationals presented by Racing Champions listing lane, driver name,
elapsed time/top speed this round, position in order following run, best
prior elapsed time/speed, and position in order prior to run:
Left Lane: Jeg Coughlin Runs 6.937/199.08, Now #6; Best prior
run: 6.921/199.37, Was #6
Right Lane: Mike Thomas Runs 6.925/198.00, Now #8; Best prior
run: 6.946/198.17, Was #15

1:15 PM We are racing the weather, some severe stuff about an
hour and a half away according to the radar displays at the track. The bump
is Darrell Alderman's 6.950. Nice move up the ladder by Thomas, no help for
Coughlin. Left Lane: Jim Yates Runs 6.909/198.76, Now #3; Best prior run:
6.940/197.80, Was #15
Right Lane: Darrell Alderman Runs 6.955/197.91, Now #16; Best
prior run: 6.950/197.97, Was #16

Yates gets the car stuck down on a good pass and moves up to the
select few at the top part of the order. Left Lane: Tom Martino Runs 6.899/199.55, Now #1; Best prior
run: 6.892/199.88, Was #1

Martino's designated dancing partner was a no-show, so he went on
a single run. He posted a 1.015 short time, which is exceptional, on his
second eighty and third very consistent pass of the event. Left Lane: Mark Pawuk Runs 6.927/199.08, Now #2; Best prior run:
6.903/199.79, Was #2
Right Lane: Arturo Delgado Runs 6.987/187.48, Now #25; Best prior
run: 6.986/198.17, Was #25

No help for either car here... Left Lane: Hurley Blakeney Runs 6.987/196.85, Now #26; Best
prior run: 7.073/196.87, Was #32
Right Lane: Allen Johnson Runs 6.959/197.91, Now #5; Best prior
run: 6.915/198.61, Was #5

And no help here either, Hurley's ET not quick enough for this
very quick field. Left Lane: Mike Trumble Runs 6.953/198.99, Now #17; Best prior
run: 6.956/197.83, Was #19
Right Lane: Gary Wiggins Runs 7.768/134.34, Now #23; Best prior
run: 6.977/197.16, Was #23

Wiggins' car made a big sashay at half track and he gave it up.
Trumble misses the field by 0.003 seconds. Left Lane: Mike Edwards Runs 6.932/198.55, Now #15; Best prior
run: 6.955/198.50, Was #19
Right Lane: Richie Stevens Runs 6.912/198.20, Now #5; Best prior
run: 6.930/198.20, Was #13

Edwards bumps his way in, putting Alderman in the trailer and
putting Ron Krisher on the bump at 6.940. Left Lane: Ray Franks Runs 6.953/197.57, Now #19; Best prior
run: 6.965/197.83, Was #20
Right Lane: Ron Krisher Runs 6.942/198.17, Now #16; Best prior
run: 6.940/198.15, Was #16

Krisher stays on the bubble... Left Lane: Jerry Eckman Runs 7.048/197.02, Now #21; Best prior
run: 6.967/197.77, Was #21
Right Lane: Troy Coughlin Runs 6.920/199.29, Now #8; Best prior
run: 6.927/198.90, Was #11

De La Garza's car made a hard move to the left, toward the wall,
on the launch and he shut it down. Left Lane: Joe Lepone, Jr. No Time, Now #33; Best prior run:
7.027/195.96, Was #33
Right Lane: Warren Johnson No Time, Now #10; Best prior run:
6.922/198.73, Was #10

As these two prepare to stage we hear the radio calls, "Sprinkles
on the starting line," "It's raining hard in the staging area." The drivers
shut the engines off and the crews push the cars back under the tower.

A couple of minutes later, the rain is gone and the track is dry, so the next
pair of cars fires and moves up to stage. Left Lane: Bruce Allen Runs 6.898/199.08, Now #2; Best prior
run: 6.955/199.17, Was #20
Right Lane: Rickie Smith Runs 6.935/198.12, Now #8; Best prior
run: 6.918/198.47, Was #7

Last night Smith bumped Allen from the field. Allen gets a
straight run in here and jumps way up to the top part of the field, that new
R-M power getting to the ground. That bumps Krisher and puts Mike Edwards on
the bubble at 6.932. Left Lane: Steve Schmidt Runs 6.936/198.67, Now #14; Best prior
run: 6.929/198.88, Was #14
Right Lane: Don Beverley Runs 6.992/198.12, Now #28; Best prior
run: 7.018/196.67, Was #28

No help for this pair... Left Lane: Kurt Johnson Runs 6.890/200.71, Now #1; Best prior
run: 7.023/198.79, Was #31
Right Lane: Jamie Yates Runs 7.034/196.19, Now #34; Best prior
run: 7.035/195.56, Was #34

KJ jumps from the outhouse to the penthouse on a straight, strong
run. That bumps Edwards and
puts Greg Anderson on the bubble at 6.932. Left Lane: Greg Anderson Runs 6.931/198.70, Now #16; Best prior
run: 6.932/198.55, Was #16
Right Lane: Randy Jones Runs 10.228/89.35, Now #30; Best prior
run: 7.018/195.03, Was #30

Anderson stays on the bubble, improving by a mere 0.001 seconds.
Jones' car goes several different ways on the launch and he abandons the
run. Left Lane: Larry Morgan Runs 7.054/196.39, Now #23; Best prior
run: 6.967/194.83, Was #23
Right Lane: V. Gaines Runs 6.906/199.88, Now #5; Best prior run:
6.911/200.05, Was #6

Gaines climbs up a rung with another fine run. Morgan has fallen
way off the pace. Left Lane: Joe Lepone, Jr. Runs 7.074/195.17, Now #33; Best
prior run: 7.027/195.96, Was #33
Right Lane: John Nobile Runs 6.920/199.05, Now #11; Best prior
run: 6.927/198.73, Was #14

Nobile moves up several rungs, Lepone comes up way short. Right Lane: Warren Johnson Runs 6.886/200.95, Now #1; Best prior
run: 6.922/198.73, Was #13

The final car, WJ was lucky the rain came because he had a dry
sump oil leak that was repaired while he cooled the car down. He resets the
event speed and ET records on this pass, taking over the top spot on the
ladder. Once again it's Johnson and Johnson at the top of the
ladder.